Market-path research — 28 Aug 2026 19:55 Europe/London

# Market-path research — 28 Aug 2026 19:55 Europe/London

Not a P move. No path named. No customer named.
Did not re-read Companies House company 16892858.
Did not repeat last recon hour: HMRC Corporation Tax Statistics 2025 collection / commentary / background.
Also did not repeat: Law Society of Scotland 2025 AGM / trainee statistics / Your Scottish solicitor / Annual report 2025 / Find a Solicitor; Companies House late filing penalties / Pay a penalty / Companies House approach to financial penalties; ICAS Regulation Strategy / Starting up in practice / Completing your ICAS 2026 AML Declaration / Find a CA; HMRC Annual UK VAT statistics 2024 to 2025 as the same pages; CIOT Achievements in 2025 / ATT homepage / Choosing a Tax Adviser / Find a CIOT Member / Find an ATT Member; Making Tax Digital for Income Tax / Find out if and when / collection / Sign up / business-population statistics commentary; ICAEW probate / oaths Monitoring Results 2025 / Financial Results 2025; Help to Grow: Management / Growth Guarantee Scheme; HMRC Trust Registration Service / Check if you need to register a trust / Register a trust / Trusts and taxes: When you must register a trust; DSIT R&D allocations / UKRI annual report / Smart Grants / GOV.UK Apply for innovation funding; ACCA Report on Regulation 2025 / Find an accountant as the same pages; HMRC Research and Development Tax Credits Statistics September 2025 as the same pages; Faculty Office / Master of the Faculties / Notaries; GOV.UK Accounts and tax returns / Corporation Tax / File confirmation statement as the same deadline pages; HMRC tax-adviser ASA / MMTAR; GOV.UK Register for VAT / Register as an employer as the same pages; HMRC EIS and SEIS: 2026; British Business Bank Start Up Loans as the same pages; OPBAS; CLSB Costs Lawyer; DBT BPE 2025; ACRA / CGIUKI; Insolvency Act 1986 s.388–390A; Companies House blog DIY One Login vs ACSP; ACSP consent CSV; GOV.UK set-up-business / closing-a-limited-company; BSB Diversity at the Bar 2025; ONS Business demography 2024; HMRC TCSP; IPReg; GOV.UK accounts software; CILEx; LSB sector size; CLC Q1 2026; SRA population; CH register FYE 2026; CH/ECCTA IDV as the same risk page; CH DIY/WebFiling; Oxford 2020 SeedLegals; GOV.UK setup class map; LSA reserved as the same risk pages; Law Society (England & Wales) + ICAEW directories as the same pages; ACSP+MCA; ONS M/N size; SIC neighbours.

Area: Companies in the space.
Verdict: stayed thin.
P unchanged.

## Searched
Prefer Companies in the space this hour (last filed 28 Aug 15:55 ICAS practising-certificate / supervised-firm / Find a CA) after Market discovery filled at 18:55 with HMRC Corporation Tax Statistics 2025. Unused official source: Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) licensed-membership and licensed-accountant growth pages next to ACCA, ICAS, CIOT/ATT, MMTAR, TCSP, ACRA, CGIUKI, and software lists. Not another CT-receipts size map (Market discovery filled that at 18:55). Not another Scottish solicitor headcount (Competitor mapping filled that at 17:55). Not another late-filing / ECCTA penalty fork (Market scenarios filled that at 16:55). Not another ICAS practising-certificate lane (Companies in the space filled that at 15:55).

- Record numbers of technical accountants choosing to be their own boss (AAT news, 10 April 2025): https://www.aat.org.uk/about/media-centre/news/record-numbers-technical-accountants-choosing-be-their-own-boss — HTTP 200
- Licensed membership: be your own boss: https://www.aat.org.uk/membership/licensed-membership-be-your-own-boss — HTTP 200
- AAT Annual Report and accounts (1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 overview): https://www.aat.org.uk/about/what-we-do/annual-report-accounts — HTTP 200
- Find an accountant or bookkeeper (public licensed-member directory): https://www.aat.org.uk/find-an-accountant-or-bookkeeper — HTTP 200
- FRC Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession 2025 (published 15 October 2025; AAT listed among eight bodies): https://www.frc.org.uk/library/supervision/professional-bodies-supervision/key-facts-and-trends-in-the-accountancy-profession/key-facts-and-trends-in-the-accountancy-profession-2025/ — HTTP 200

Did not treat “AAT licensed accountants”, “AAT licensed bookkeepers”, “technical accountants who start practices”, or “SMEs served by AAT licensed members” as a FYJ customer. Did not invent a “FYJ for AAT practices” product. Did not ask for a forbidden-market list.

## What stands
- News (HTTP 200; 10 April 2025): AAT’s licensed accountant population (members qualified to run their own accounting businesses) has grown by 59% over the past seven years. Licensed members under 34 grew 755% since 2018, from 119 to 1,018. On current trends AAT projects licensed accountant membership to exceed 8,000 by 2030. These firms play a vital role in the success of 840,000 UK SMEs that together employ over 2.5 million people. In 2025 females represent 56% of AAT’s licensed accountant population. Accountant startup programme with Sage; more than 250 on the waiting list at launch.
- Licensed membership (HTTP 200): AAT supports more than 6,000 AAT Licensed Accountants and Bookkeepers. Two licence options — Licensed Bookkeeper (up to five services) and Licensed Accountant (up to 18). Average fee income for AAT Licensed Accountants £72,000; 87% satisfied (AAT Salary Survey 2025). Annual licence fees until 31 August 2026: Bookkeeper £187 / Accountant £355 (reduced Accountant £249 where Gross Fee Income under £12,570); from 1 September 2026 Bookkeeper £191 / Accountant £363 / reduced £254. Listing in the AAT licensed member directory.
- Annual Report page (HTTP 200): overview for 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025; PDF download offered. Page highlights focus on qualification completion, student conference, CPD, Careers Hub — not a fresh absolute licensed-headcount figure beyond the licensed-membership page.
- Find an accountant or bookkeeper (HTTP 200): public licensed-member directory for AAT licensed accountants and bookkeepers.
- FRC Key Facts 2025 (HTTP 200; published 15 October 2025): AAT is one of eight accountancy bodies in the survey (with ACCA, CAI, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAS, ICAEW, AIA). For AAT, members in the UK and ROI and worldwide both decreased by nearly 2% between 2023 and 2024, while students increased by over 30% in the UK and ROI and worldwide. Absolute AAT headcount is not printed in the HTML highlights (data file separate). Context only.
- These sit next to ACCA, ICAS, CIOT/ATT, MMTAR, TCSP, ACRA, CGIUKI, and software lists as another paid accounting-technician / bookkeeping practice lane, not as a market path. A “more than 6,000 licensed” count and an “840,000 SMEs” claim are not who FYJ sells to. Not a path.

## What does not stand
- A “more than 6,000 AAT Licensed Accountants and Bookkeepers” figure, a “59% seven-year growth”, an “exceed 8,000 by 2030” projection, or an “840,000 UK SMEs” claim is not a FYJ market path.
- Naming “AAT licensed accountants”, “AAT licensed bookkeepers”, “technical accountants starting practices”, or “SMEs served by AAT members” is not naming a FYJ customer.
- This is a different lane from the 28 Aug 15:55 ICAS Scottish CA practice lane and from the 05:55 ACCA Report on Regulation / Find an accountant pass. This hour is AAT licensed membership and licensed-accountant growth.
- Tide Platform Ltd remains an ACSP identity check, not a FYJ customer.
- No candidate this hour has even a partial who / why / how. End-to-end stays missing.

## End-to-end test
- Who it is for: missing.
- Why they would pay: missing.
- How FYJ reaches them: missing.
- What sits next: missing.
No real public fact this hour filled any of the four. Do not invent the rest. The AAT licensed-membership / growth / directory / FRC pages fill a Companies in the space cell (paid accounting-technician practice lane). They do not fill a path cell.

## Value-forming
The Companies in the space line stayed thin. Value has not started to form as a FYJ path. A licensed-member headcount is not a path. Adjacent size and class maps still leave who / why / how / next empty.

## Result
No path named yet. Companies in the space stayed thin. P unchanged.